No More Sorrow
by AceNamikaze
Summary: After the Third's death, Naruto picks up a new way of expressing himself. However, it can only help so much, as things continue to throw him into sorrow as Sakura blames Naruto for Sasuke leaving the village. NaruHina. HEAVY SAKURA and SASUKE BASHING.
1. In The End

_**NOW! Witness, as I unleash the power that is known as a DISCLAIMER!!**_

_**I, AceNamikaze, hereby state that I have no legal rights in any type of ownage of Naruto, Shoenen Jump, or Viz Media's. I also state that you can go fack yourself if you expect me to cry about it…**_

_**Naruto: Yep, he's crying about it…**_

_**Shikamaru: Should've seen that coming.**_

_**Ace: Screw you guys! *Sniff* **_

_**By the way, this story is not a songfic, but that doesn't mean I can't put music in it! So most events will have a specific Linkin Park song along with it! **_

**Chapter 1: In The End**

"_Lord Hokage, what are you planning on doing? It will take all of our forces to stop this attack!"_

"_I know that…but I can not allow him to get away with this! I must stop Orochimaru at any cost." _

_The third looked at Kakashi, a sad smile telling him that it was almost over._

"_Kakashi, you have a team to take care of."_

"_And you have a village!"_

"_Yes, so let me take care of my village for one last time. Go, stop the sand and sound! I will do my duty as Hokage, and protect you all from the greatest threat. And also…tell Naruto that I'm sorry."_

_With that, the Hokage ran from the stadium, leaving Kakashi on his knees. On the verge of breaking down, Kakashi could only stare at the retreating back of his Hokage._

'_I've…I've lost them both. First the Fourth, and now the Third…I can't protect anyone!' _

**Present**

The rain that cascaded upon the village joined with the tears of the villagers and shinobi alike, as every person, and animal mourned the loss of the Third Hokage. A dove flew and sat upon the closed casket of the Third. Shaking the water from itself, it once again spread its dexterous wings and took to the sky. Though it showered with grief and pain, the sun shone bright, as if conveying a death of great respect and dignities. All eyes remained on the ground, however, one had the strength to look up at the message the dove was sending.

'_Goodbye…old man…'_ Uzamaki Naruto, the container of the Kyuubi no Kitsune thought with apprehension. To his right his teammates, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke, wore the same expressions of sorrowful unwillingness. To his left, his mentor, Hatake Kakashi, showed no emotion, besides his one visible eye seeming more refined than usual. All the shinobi showed their respects to the departed Hokage, whom had given his life in an attempt to protect the village from Orochimaru-Sannin, his Sound ninja, and even the village of the Sand, in which he had killed the Kazekage, and fooled them into attacking Konohagakure.

The funeral now over, Naruto didn't hesitate. He ran away from everyone, even those who found it in their heart to try to comfort him, knowing that he had a special bond the Third Hokage. Even Sakura tried to talk to him, only stopping when Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder and slowly shook his head. Within a few seconds, he had shushined away from them and appeared at Naruto's apartment before him. A few minutes later, Naruto arrived, and stopped at the sight of his sensei. Tears had covered his whiskers, which even seemed to droop at the blonde ninjas sadness. Giving another sigh, Kakashi put his hands in his pockets, and spoke to Naruto.

"That's not how a shinobi acts." Kakashi spoke in his usual monotone, only a bit more dejectedly.

"Su…suimasen…Kakashi-sensei." Naruto replied, apologizing for his un-shinobi like actions. Kakashi frowned.

"Do you remember what I told you, Sakura, and Sasuke during our first training session Naruto?" Kakashi asked walking towards him. He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, making him look up.

"Those who don't obey the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. If you wouldn't have cried for the Hokage, then you would have been worse than trash Naruto. You would have made him think that he wasn't worthy of your forgiveness."

Naruto looked up at Kakashi confused. "What do you mean Kakashi-sensei?"

"He's sorry Naruto. For leaving alone like this. And he wants you to be strong, so that he could rest knowing that you will continue on the path to becoming a great shinobi." Kakashi eye smiled at Naruto, who in return buried his head into Kakashi's stomach.

"I…I miss jiji-sama!" Naruto cried out. Kakashi wrapped one arm around the blondes back.

"We all do Naruto…we all do."

**One month later…**

The blonde jinchuuriki sported his usual orange and blue jumpsuit as he rushed to meet with his team for the first time in what felt like decades. The smile that he was so used to faking plastered his face as he entered the training ground common to team 7. As he expected, Kakashi wasn't there, Sasuke was being emo, and Sakura was being the fan girl he had come to love…in a sense.

"Hey Sakura-chan, teme." Naruto called, almost instantly losing his smile. Sakura turned to him, about to deliver a punch to his skull until she followed his gaze to the stone on the opposite side of the small lake that sat in the training ground. In front of that stone was none other than their sensei. Forgetting about Naruto's insult to Sasuke, Sakura called to their leader.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing over there?"

The silver haired jonin gave no acknowledgement of hearing the pink haired girl, as he continued staring at the stone with his back towards them. Naruto know what was on the stone, however, seeing as he was the one to carve the kanji onto it. It was like a short poem, that he had written for the Third, but more along the lines of a song.

_I've put my trust, in you._

_Pushed as far as I can go._

_For all this, there's only one thing you should know._

_I've tried so hard, and got so far._

_But in the end, it doesn't even matter._

_I've come too far, too lose it all._

_But in the end, it doesn't even matter. _

Reading the lines for over the hundredth time that day, Kakashi finally decided to move away, and shushined to his team.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's that?" Sakura asked, glancing back towards the stone. Sasuke had used his sharingon to read it, but failed to see the meaning behind the words.

"It's just a short poem. It was done by a brilliant young shinobi for someone he cared a lot about." Kakashi said, giving a glance to Naruto. Naruto looked down.

"Today our only mission is to help out where needed around the village. When you have helped ten people each, you are dismissed to go home. These are your assigned targets." Kakashi handed them each a list with ten people's names on it.

"That's all Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"That's correct. Once you've completed your task, you are dismissed." Kakashi gave one more sad glance at Naruto, seeing that the blonde seemed to be thinking of something other than the mission, and then left in a swirl of leaves. Once Kakashi was gone, Naruto turned to go complete his task.

"Where are you going dobe?" Sasuke called upon instinct.

"Where else? To do the mission…" Nothing else was said as Naruto solemnly walked away.

"Hey Sasuke-kun, I didn't get a chance to tell you this last month, but thank you for saving me from Gaara. I know it had to be you." Sakura said smiling at the raven haired boy. Sasuke held a look of confusion in his eyes before what happened registered in his brain.

"Sakura, I didn't save you from that sand ninja. It was Naruto." He said the last part with a hint of venom. Sakura slanted her head as her smile grew a bit wider.

"Naruto? Oh don't be modest Sasuke-kun. Sure he's gotten a bit stronger, but he couldn't have stood a chance against someone like him."

"I'm not lying. Naruto saved you. Once he saw you in danger, he gave it his all to protect you. He used a power that I've never seen before." The more Sasuke thought about this, the angrier he became. With out waiting for Sakura to respond, he left the training ground, feeling angered by his admittance that he was helpless against the sand shinobi Gaara, but Naruto, the dead last of the Rookie 9, had beaten him.

Sakura watched as Sasuke left. _'Naruto saved me? Sasuke-kun didn't sound like he was lying…Maybe Naruto really did. I guess…I should thank him then.' _It was awkward, seeing as she would have never guessed that the person who protected her from certain death was the person she had thought had little value to their team.

Once she had completed her task, she had went around the village searching for the blonde. Surprised that he wasn't at Ichiraku's ramen, she went to his apartment. She found him there, albeit, not in his apartment. Instead, he stood on the roof, looking up towards Hokage mountain. Sakura was about to join him, that is, until she heard him talking. No, not talking, singing.

**(Okay, true to my word, this is not a song fic. You can skip this part, and not miss anything about the story. Just look at it as Naruto's new hobby.)**

_One thing, I don't know why,_

_It doesn't even matter how hard you try,_

_Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme_

_To explain in due time, all I know._

_Time is a valuable thing._

_Watch it fly by as pendulum swings._

_Watch it countdown to the end of the day_

_The clock ticks life away, it's so unreal._

_Didn't look out below, _

_Watch the time go, right out the window!_

_Trying to hold on, to didn't even know_

_I wasted it all, just to watch, you, go!_

_I kept everything inside and even though I tried,_

_It all fell apart!_

_And what it meant to me, will eventually, be a memory,_

_Of a time I tried, so, hard!_

_And got so far!_

_But in the end, it doesn't even matter!_

Sakura gasped as she realized that Naruto was singing the entirety of the song that was engraved upon the stone on their training ground. She looked down, knowing that it was Naruto that had carved the words now.

"Na-Naruto!" She called from the street below. Naruto flinched and looked down.

"S-Sakura-chan? What are you doing here?" He jumped down to her, a blush across his face. She frowned at the look in his eyes. They were almost completely drained of the shining sapphire she was used to. It looked as if he had cried recently.

"Naruto, I just wanted to tell you thank you. You protected me from the sand ninja that time, right?"

"Uh…yeah, but why are you telling me now?" He asked confused.

"Baka, just take the thank you." She hissed. He sweat dropped and told her that she was welcome. They stood awkwardly for a few minutes before Sakura decided to bring up the stone.

"Naruto…I know it was you that carved that poem into the stone. Did you do it…for the third?"

Naruto looked down sadly. "…Yeah, I did. Because no matter what I do, it won't matter in the end. I'll always end up being hurt…" She thought that he was talking to her, but in reality, he spoke to himself.

"That's not true Naruto. You helped me didn't you? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to see Sasuke-kun again." She said with a smile. Naruto felt even more down, seeing that the pink haired kunoichi still refused to show him any type of emotions out side of meager friendship, if that.

"Hey Sakura-chan, do you want to go get some ramen?" He asked hopefully, thinking he could push his luck just a bit.

"Not in your life." She said bluntly and walked away.

"It was worth a try…" As she left his view, he returned to his apartment, unaware that a bluish black haired ninja was watching since the very beginning. The young person turned and ran away, heading to the Hyuga compound.


	2. Crawling

_**Hmm…maybe I should've noted that at the time I typed the first chapter, I had no confidence of it getting any reviews whatsoever, and I was going to be busy afterwards for a while…heh, my bad. To make up for this mistake, I will be trying to get at least one chapter up a week. This way, I'll be able to get back into typing.**_

_**Disclaimer-I don't own (beep) of Linkin Park so don't ask. I won't ever own (beep) so don't ask. By the way, I don't have any rights to Naruto, VIZ media, or Shonen Jump. Seems legitimate. **_

**Chapter 2: Crawling**

**One Week Later…**

Laying on his back in his apartment, Naruto stared up at the ceiling, wanting to fade into its plainness. To fit in with normality, and to forget about the flash of everything else. Just to be there and acknowledged was what he always wanted, but now, he just wanted to be _there._ The village was beginning to look better, and so far, Kakashi had stopped giving the team missions. It had been three days, and Naruto hadn't left his apartment. In those three days, only Shikamaru's team had come to see him. Maybe all the other teams were still busy, or maybe they just didn't care. He didn't have a clue, and felt somewhat of a hatred towards them.

'Dammit.' He muttered. He couldn't feel hatred towards them without a just cause, even if he wanted to. However, he could reevaluate his standings within team seven. Sasuke, nor Sakura had come to see if he was doing alright. On top of that, he had a good feeling that Sakura was spending most of her time around the Uchiha compound. The sun's light entered the window of his room, shining right into his eyes. He winced and rolled over, grumbling from being disturbed. It was the first time he had took time to himself to just think. Before he could continue, a knock sounded on the door.

"It's open. Take what you want and leave." He yelled, giving the greeting he was so used to after the Third had passed away.

"I doubt you have anything worth taking Gaki." The voice of Jiraiya penetrated the silence like a hot knife. Naruto instantly shot up and stumbled out of bed.

"Eh? Jiraiya-sensei, what are you doing here?" He called. Jiraiya took note of the serious tone in Naruto's voice and decided to hold off on picking with his pupil for the moment.

"It's been quiet around the village, so I thought either you were still here sulking or dead. Looks like a little bit of both."

"I haven't eaten in three days."

Jiraiya sighed and leaned against the door frame to Naruto's bedroom. He knew what Naruto was going through. Hell, the entire village did. Observing them, some didn't care, and were happy that Naruto was being less…enthusiastic than usual. However, some people were getting worried, fearing that now that Naruto was in such an emotional state, he might breakdown and release the Kyubi. Though it sounded farfetched, Jiraiya knew it was a possibility, and drowning himself in isolation and depression wasn't going to help.

"Naruto, it's been five weeks. It's about time you started looking towards the future now. I know you're hurting over your loss, but don't you think it's bad to do the same to others?"

"What do you mean?"

"Isolating yourself from your friends is just like having lost you Naruto."

"What friends? The only ones who come to see me are Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji." His voice seemed to grow just a bit deeper as his anger began to rise.

"Then I have to talk to them. I told everyone not to come see you."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "Wha-what? Why would you do that?"

"Because the Naruto I know wouldn't want people to come feel sorry for him."

A wave of dread filled his stomach. His mouth grew dry and his hands felt clammy. He had never done things selfishly, and now here he was, wallowing in his own self-pity, hoping someone would feel sorry for him. Now that he knew they did, he felt sick to his stomach. He didn't want his friends to feel bad, or pity him. Pity makes people weak, he had always thought.

"But…why are you here Jiraiya-sensei?"

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but stop calling me that. It's ero-sennin to you gaki. Being respectful just isn't you, and I'm sure your friends wouldn't be happy if you've changed too much."

Jiraiya walked up to Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay to remember Naruto, but the time for grieving has long past. Because you can't let it go, neither can your friends. The only difference is that instead of The Third, they're grieving over you."

Naruto shook his head, trying to will his tears away. Jiraiya was right, and Naruto had known all along. Of course his friends cared for him. What type of friends would they be if they didn't?

"Thanks Jiraiya…er, ero-sennin." Jiraiya scratched the back of his head, resembling Naruto.

"Well, if you want to start calling me Jiraiya-sensei then I won't stop you."

Naruto smirked slyly. "Now why would I do that? You just told me to call you ero-sennin. I don't want to make my friends too upset right?"

Jiraiya smacked his head. "Me and my damn mouth."

**Elsewhere in Village…**

"Why do I let you drag me into this shit?" The lazy Nara heir mumbled as his long time friend and sister, Ino, modeled different outfits in front of him.

"Oh stop complaining. Naruto-kun's a closer friend to you than me, so you should have no problem with this." She called with a huff as she walked back into the dressing room.

"Troublesome. Naruto's a friend and all, but why does it have to be such a horrid color."

Shikamaru was currently wearing an orange version of his outfit, letting the fishnet shirt remain the same, and had a blue cloth for his hitai-ate. Ino came from the dressing room once more, revealing that she too was wearing an orange version of her original outfit with a blue hitai-ate cloth.

"Aww, you don't look that bad Shikamaru! Besides, even Temari-san is going to try to help cheer Naruto-kun up. All we have to do is talk Neji and the others into it."

"Talk us into what?" Neji's monotonous voice startled Ino, causing her to pale before turning to see Team 9 standing behind her.

"Uh…Ino…whatever you're doing is a bad idea." TenTen said, trying hard not to giggle at her friend's apparel.

"I don't know. It looks kind of youthful, though I'd prefer it to be green." Lee said and gave a thumbs up.

"Ha ha, laugh it up." Ino mumbled. "For your information, we're doing this to cheer Naruto-kun up." The three instantly grew quiet.

"He's still in his apartment?" TenTen asked. Ino nodded solemnly. Lee began wiping tears with his forearm.

"To see the flames of youth burn so dimly. It's so tragic!"

"Don't worry about Naruto. He's bounced back from much worse. Plus, Jiraiya-sannin has told us that everything will be fine." Neji spoke with his arms folded.

"See Ino, we don't have anything to worry about, now give me my outfit back." Shikamaru called, releasing a small amount of ki.

"No chance. We're still going to make sure Naruto-kun is okay even if I have to force these three into outfits."

"Who say wha?" TenTen blinked. A tick mark grew on Neji's head.

"Ino, I have no ill intent towards you, but if you think that you will be getting me into anything _orange_ you are sadly mistaken, and much less smart than I initially thought."

Shikamaru sweat dropped and took a few steps back. "Uh, you're going to regret that Neji."

The Hyuga prodigy looked at the pineapple haired teen questioningly until an even more potent killing intent began to flood the store. Several of the other patrons ran out the door as Ino's ki turned most of the room black.

"You're on your own Neji!" Lee said as he, TenTen, and Shikamaru ran.

"You cowards! This is nothing!" Neji said with an arrogant smirk until he saw Ino slowly advancing on him. He gulped. 'I hope…'

**Streets…**

Naruto and Jiraiya walked side by side down the roads of Konoha. Naruto could still feel many glares directed his way, but not as many as before. It unsettled his nerves and he couldn't help but be on guard.

"What's that Naruto?" Jiraiya asked, noticing a small piece of parchment sticking out his pocket.

"Huh? Oh, this is nothing." He said with a chuckle, trying to push the paper completely into his pocket. However, the Toad Sage was faster and grabbed the paper before Naruto could even push it partly in.

"Hmm…"

"Ero-sennin, that wasn't meant for anyone to see."

"I can see that."

Naruto's head dropped. Jiraiya sighed and put a hand on his head.

"Stop sulking gaki. I understand. That's why I'm going to be taking you on a small trip."

"A trip? To where?" Naruto asked, mood instantly brightening.

"A training trip. There's someone I need to find along the way too."

Naruto rose an eyebrow. "Is it a woman?"

"Well…yes, but-"

"No way ero-sennin. I don't want to have anything to do with your perverted antics!"

"That's not the reason why I'm looking for this woman Naruto. She's an old ally of mine and very powerful at that. I…want to get her to train you too. Don't you want to become hokage one day?"

"You bet! Believe-"

A rock slammed into Naruto's head from behind. When he turned around, no one was there.

"What the hell? Someone threw a rock at me!"

"I didn't see anything."

Naruto rubbed the spot where a small knot was forming. "All I was going to say was believe-"

SMACK!

Another rock bounces off of his head.

"Oh come on! What the fuck is this!" He screamed, getting weird glares from the civilians around him.

"I see!" Jiraiya smiled. "Kami has finally gotten tired of that terrible catch phrase. Bout time."

"Hell no! No one can stop me from saying believe-" A giant boulder drops from the sky and lands on Naruto. "Okay, I give up."

Naruto rolled the boulder from off of him and began to limp next to Jiraiya. Jiraiya turned and gave a thumbs up to several anbu before continuing along. After several seconds, Jiraiya and Naruto made it to the village gates.

"Naruto, you should go say bye to all of your friends and let them know what's going on. This trip may take a few months."

"Wait, a few months? You never said anything about that!"

"You don't expect to become hokage with minimal training do you?"

Naruto grumbled. "Well…no, but-"

"Then go say bye to your friends and get packed."

"Wait! Can we at least bring Sakura-chan along?"

"Hell no we can't bring that heartless banshee…er, I mean, no. Only you have the abilities to learn the justu I'm going to be teaching you."

Naruto sighed. To be honest, he wasn't nearly as disappointed as he thought he'd be to hear that Sakura couldn't join them. He actually felt somewhat relieved. Things were starting to clear up for him, and while he still didn't completely let go of Sakura, he knew that he wasn't as close to her as he wanted to believe.

"I'll be right back ero-sennin." Naruto called and began to run back into the heart of the village.

'Naruto…you're growing so much already and you don't even know it.' Jiraiya thought as he remembered the words that were on the paper he took from Naruto.

_There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface,  
Consuming, confusing.  
This lack of self-control I fear is never ending,  
Controlling, I can't seem  
_

_To find myself again  
My walls are closing in  
I've felt this way before  
So insecure._

Jiraiya shook the thoughts away. He knew that Naruto was talking about the Kyubi but what really hurt him was saying that he felt it before. Naruto knew isolation and the feeling of being detested when he was younger, and now he felt the same way with the knowledge of the Kyubi being inside of him. Maybe the third had done a lot to suppress those feelings Naruto had.

Jiraiya had never given the old man enough credit. He had always thought by trying to keep Naruto's emotions bottled up he was destroying the genin from the inside out. But now he saw that by letting the emotions out, Naruto was beginning a spiral back into oblivion.

_Crawling in my skin!  
These wounds, they will not heal!  
Fear is how I fall!  
Confusing what is real!_

"Dammit." Jiraiya thought. He just couldn't get the song out his head. He would definitely have to talk to Naruto about it during their journey.

**Village…**

Naruto had stopped three times already, each time not finding the people he was looking. First, of course, he stopped at hell's spawn's house, Sakura. After finding that she wasn't home, he went to the devil's house himself, Sasuke Uchiha. Still finding that neither were there, he had gone to his next best friend. Upon arriving at the Nara househould, Shikaku had informed Naruto that Shikamaru had been dragged shopping with Ino so he could forget about seeing them any time soon.

"Dammit, this sucks!" Naruto kicked a rock. "What's the point of saying bye to everyone when they're not around themselves."

The rock bounced over the ground, hitting a gate several feet away. Naruto looked up at the large gates curiously.

"The Hyuga compound? Hey, maybe Neji and Hinata are here."

Abandoning all common sense of why the gate was locked, Naruto created a clone and used it to propell himself over the offending metal. Still not thinking, Naruto walked right up to the front door and opened it, finding it unlocked. Several steps into the mansion, something finally clicked in the blondes head.

'Holy shit, did I just unlawfully enter a Clans estate?'

The clatter of a tray hitting the ground snapped him from his thoughts. Turning on spot Naruto came face to red face with one Hinata Hyuga.

"Eh…Hinata, I can explain." A second later, Naruto watched as the Hyuga heiress' eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell back with a resounding thump.

"Hinata, what was that noise?" The voice of Hiashi Hyuga, current clan head, called from the upper part of the mansion. A moment later, Naruto heard footsteps.

'Shit, shit, shit…ah fuck you fate!'


	3. Changing

_**As promised, here is the next chapter. I want to keep a constant flow and the reviews really do help so thank you all. **_

_**I want to personally say thank you to Stigma. You are truly an inspiration my friend and if you're still reading this congratulations! You've just won the dumbass award for nothing better to do! Go ahead, take your prize!**_

_**I, Ace Namikaze, own nothing of Naruto or Linkin Park. I hereby state that this fic can be interpreted as a semi-song fic. However, unlike actual song fics, the music is not the main focus at all. **_

_**Now that that's done, let's get the ball rolling. **_

**Chatper 3: Changing**

As the footsteps drew ever closer, Naruto felt his insides twisting. To his right, one Hyuga heiress lay unconscious, while somewhere towards his left, a soon to be pissed Hyuga clan head approached.

'Shit! Okay, I need to move Hinata, but then what?'

He quickly knelt down next to Hinata, before freezing with a blush on his face. 'Uh…how do I move her?'

The Hyuga princess moaned, shifting slightly, a small smile adorning her face.

'Glad someone's enjoying this.' Naruto thought sarcastically.

"Hinata, answer me!" Hiashi's voice bellowed, now on the first floor. Naruto hastily grabbed Hinata by the waist, getting a very cute, very arousing gasp/moan. For a split second, Naruto's thoughts drifted to how warm and soft Hinata's body was, but the approaching foot falls brought him from his reverie. He gently dragged Hinata's unconscious form behind one of the long couches. Thinking on his feet, a second before Hiashi entered the front room, Naruto whispered 'Henge'.

"Hinata, why didn't you answer when I called?" Hiashi roared furiously upon seeing his eldest child.

"I-I…d-dropped the-" A quick glance at the dropped tray helped him finish. "t-tea." Naruto thought he deserved a reward, seeing as the stutter was completely involuntary. He was honestly scared shitless. Expecting a quick sigh and offer of forgiveness, Naruto smiled slightly in Hinata's form. However he didn't get the reaction he had expected.

"Wipe that smirk from your face!" Hiashi yelled again. The next thing Naruto knew, he was on the ground, holding his cheek in disbelief.

'He HIT me! He HIT HINATA!'

"What do you find funny about wasting nourishment?" Hiashi growled, grabbing Naruto/Hinata by the collar and forcing her to her feet. A second of hesitation in his answer and he found himself on the ground again.

'Oh hell no.' Naruto thought, anger beginning to rise. 'He treats Hinata like this?'

"Mm…Naruto-kun?" The groggy voice of the true Hyuga heiress mumbled from behind the couch.

"What the?" Hiashi instantly activated his byakugan. Hinata was standing up, while the previously henged Hinata was slowly backing over towards her.

"Hinata? Then…" Once Hiashi noticed the extreme chakra signature wafting from the first Hinata, he automatically knew who it was. "Uzumaki Naruto!" His voice rose with each syllable.

Hinata's face once again flooded with color as she too activated her bloodline. His chakra signature was the one she was most familiar with. Knowing that he was caught, he dropped the henge.

"Boy, you have negative ten seconds to explain why you are in my house."

"Well, you see…I…wait, negative-"

Naruto didn't finish as Hiashi released a wave of killing intent so strong that every residence in the Mansion felt it. A few seconds later and Naruto Uzumaki could be seen flying from the front door of the mansion.

"Naruto-kun! I'm s-sorry!" Hinata called as she ran after him. Hiashi walked out to the front as well.

"What is the meaning of this?" He growled, bloodline still activated. Then what he never expected in a billion years occurred. Hinata stood in front of the downed Naruto, arms spread out in protection.

"Leave him alone father!" She yelled without a single stutter. To say Hiashi was floored would have been an understatement. The first thing that came to mind was 'Who say wha?' Then it was 'Who the fuck does she think she's talking to?'

"Hinata, if you don't move out of the way, I will kick you out of here along with him." Hiashi spoke darkly, and Hinata knew he was serious.

"Why? W-what has he done wrong? I-I invited him over!" She said, re-activating her bloodline as well.

"Hinata?" Naruto called from the ground, watching the entire scene. He didn't know why she was lying for him or putting herself in such a bad position with her own father.

"You have no permission to invite anyone into the estate and you know that full and well!" Hiashi saw that several people had begun to stand in front of the mansion gates, watching the scene take place. With a ragged sigh, he deactivated his byakugan and began to walk back towards the front doors. "I expect to see you in my chambers soon."

Hinata gulped, slowly relaxing as her father left her view. Then she slowly turned to face the blonde behind her.

"Hinata…I am so sorry! I…I didn't mean-"

"I-It's alright, Naruto-kun." She whispered with her head still down. Naruto frowned. He had actually never seen the Hyuga girl so down. Either she was smiling or passed out. Right away he knew he didn't like seeing her like that.

"Hinata, can we talk?" Naruto asked seriously. Hinata looked up with tears in her eyes and a faint blush on her cheeks.

"S-sure, Naruto-kun. B-but it has to be quick." She began to push her fingers together, conflicted by both the fact that she was actually talking to Naruto, and from the fact that she knew her father was going to punish her. Severally. They both walked to the gates and only stood just outside the estate walls. Hinata leaned her back against the wall, looking down. Naruto looked away too. How the hell was he supposed to talk to her after what had just happened.

"W-what were you doing inside the house?" Hinata broke the silence. Naruto blushed and scratched the back of his head.

"Well…I had come to see you and Neji. I had something to tell you guys."

"Oh…" Hinata said solemnly. She had hoped that Naruto had come to see her, but not Neji as well. "So…what is it?" She spoke dryly. Naruto cringed. Hinata had never, _ever_, spoken to him so coldly.

"I…I'm supposed to be leaving the village for a few months. To train with ero-sennin. He told me to say goodbye to all of my friends. So I had come over. For lack of better judgment, I kind of snuck in." He added with a chuckle. Hinata giggled lightly too, making Naruto smile. 'That's better.' He thought.

"Thank you for c-coming over then Naruto-kun. I wish I could come with you."

"I wish you could too. Then you wouldn't have to deal with that ass hole of a father." Naruto spat disdainfully.

"F-forgive him Naruto-kun. He hasn't been f-feeling well lately."

Naruto huffed. "That's no reason to treat you like that! You're one of the kindest people I know Hinata! You don't deserve that!"

The blush returned full force and Hinata smiled brightly. "Arigatou Naruto-kun."

Afterwards, they both returned to silence, both blushing madly. For the first time, Naruto found himself looking at another girl with as much attraction as he did Sakura. He was thinking. Odd, since he had been doing that a lot lately. Out of pure curiosity, Naruto began to compare the two.

Sakura was violent.

Hinata was sweet.

Hinata had eyes the size of the moon.

Sakura had a forehead the size of the moon.

Sakura beat him.

Hinata protected him.

In a fight, there was no contest. Hinata trumped Sakura hands down. Why in the hell didn't he start thinking sooner? It was a marvelous thing, apparently with lots of benefits.

"N-Naruto-kun? Are you alright?" She asked. Naruto looked at her and almost fainted. She was leaning forward, worried eyes glistening like the true moon. Her hair fell over the sides of her face and when she saw Naruto blush, she tilted her head and smiled.

'Holy shimate! Where the hell has my eyes been all this time?' He thought, thinking of all the times he had seen Hinata. It was the first time he had looked at the young girl in such a way, and it was the weirdest feeling ever. He had never, not even once, got the same feeling from looking at Sakura.

"I-I I'm f-fine." He gulped. Hinata giggled.

"You s-sound like me Naruto-kun."

The blonde chuckled nervously.

"Uh...I heard you." She whispered.

"Huh?"

"I...I heard you s-singing a few weeks ago. On your apartment." She blushed deeply and seemed to bow in apology.

"...You were there?" Naruto asked lowly. Hinata swallowed hard, scared at what Naruto must have thought of her then. "Why didn't you say something? You should've came and joined me!" He called happily. Hinata looked up astonished. Naruto just gave her a cool smile.

"Oh, Naruto-kun!" She cried and threw her arms around his neck, taking both genin by surprise.

"H-Hinata..." After a moment, Naruto slowly wrapped his arms around the princess and patted her back. "Thank you."

He didn't know how long they stood in place, arms wrapped around each other. He didn't know what to feel either. Hinata was the first girl that actually made him feel...wanted. Sure Ino and TenTen were pretty cool, but he had never talked to them like he had just did with Hinata. There were so many misconceptions he had made of the starry-eyed girl. Now he wanted to fix them.

"Hey, I have to go say goodbye to everyone else. I promise to come see you first when I get back from training." He reluctantly released her.

"Alright. Bye Naruto-kun!"

"See ya later Hinata-chan!" He jogged away, turning before Hinata could spot the blush on his face.

'Wait...did he just call me...' Unbeknownst to Hinata, Hanabi had come outside and heard most of the conversation. Incidentally, she walked right behind Hinata as what Naruto had said processed in her mind.

"Nee-san, who was that-" Before Hanabi could finish, Hinata fell back, landing on her little sister. "Eh...Nee-san...heavy...can't...breath..."

**Elsewhere...**

"Ino Yamanaka, I swear by Kami I'm going to kill you one day." The Hyuga prodigy spoke with a twitching brow.

"You sure you want to threaten her again Neji-kun?" TenTen asked poking at her not-so-secret crush. They both had on alternate versions of their original outfits, just both with the brightest of orange shirts Ino could find. Surprisingly, Ino even found an orange version of Neji's shirt with a makeshift spiral on the back that resembled Naruto's.

"Tch. You owe us big time Ino." Shikamaru said with his hands buried in his pockets.

"For once I agree with him." Neji growled, arms folded as the group marched down the street.

"Quit whining! It's not like I enjoy wearing this color either, and I'm doing this just for the hell of it."

'Control freak.' Neji thought. Ino stopped walking for second.

"Neji-kun?" She asked sweetly. Shikamaru sweat dropped, knowing what that voice meant.

"What is it now?"

"Did you forget that I come from a family of mind walkers?"

"Of course not. The Yamanaka are prominent in sticking their noses in other peoples business." Another strike for the Hyuga.

"Okay. What you might not be aware of is that daddy has been teaching me a new justu that allow us to read peoples minds for several seconds. Care to tell me what you just thought a few minutes ago?"

Neji's eyes widened. A nervous blush crossed his face and TenTen slowly took several steps back. She sighed. "You'll never learn will you?"

For the first time in his life, Neji found himself running from a woman.

"Wow, Ino looks pretty serious." TenTen stated worried for Neji.

"I think I know what he said." Shikamaru said, a small smirk on his face.

"What?" Both Lee and TenTen spoke together.

"Ino only threatens to castrate someone if they call her a control freak."

"WHAT WAS THAT SHIKAMARU?" Ino yelled as she held a bruised up Neji by the collar.

"Huh? No, I was just explaining-" Ino dropped Neji and dashed towards Shikamaru. "Shit! Where's Chouji when you need him?"

As Ino attempted to prevent any future Nara's from being born, one Akimichi was sitting at home in a meditative position.

'Come on...come on...'

A bang on the door interrupted him.

"Chouji, are you done yet? You've been in there for an hour!" Chouza shouted to his son.

"Not yet! Go away!"

"Dammit Chouji, you better not flood the bathroom!"

"You're getting faster Ino." TenTen complimented as the group were once again walking down the road, a beat up Neji and Shikamaru trailing behind slightly.

"Thanks! After that humiliating match during the chunin exams against Sakura, I haven't stopped training since." Ino pumped her fist up with fire in her eyes. "Next time me and forehead fight, she's going down!"

TenTen sweat dropped. "Alrighty then."

"Hey, isn't that Naruto-kun?" Lee called pointing down the road. Sure enough the blonde jinchuuriki was rushing down the road towards them. Upon coming into sight with the small group, he slowly slid to a stop. The group and Naruto stared blankly at each other, the wind whistling between them as it blew.

"Uh...guys...what the hell are you wearing?"

CRASH!

All face planted into the ground. "Wha...what do you mean what are we wearing? We're dressed like you!" Ino yelled.

"Yeah...that's...weird." He said crossing his arms and cocking his head. "Even you too Neji? You guys must be losing it." After a moment, Naruto burst into a fit of laughter. "Damn, you guys HAVE lost it! Look at yourselves, ha ha!"

"WHAT!" Ino grabbed Naruto by the ear. "What the hell are you talking about? We thought you'd like it! We were trying to cheer you up you jerk!"

"HEY! Ow, ow! You don't look bad! LEGGO!" Ino huffed and released him, face burning.

"Told you this plan was ridiculous." Shikamaru spoke, tossing the orange shirt as far away as possible.

"Naruto, what's wrong with these outfits?" TenTen asked seriously.

"The only reason I wear orange is because this is the only outfit that store would sell me." Naruto spoke it like it was nothing out of the norm. "Besides, orange was..." He trailed off. "Orange was jiji's favorite color."

Seeing their friend going back into depression, TenTen quickly tried to change the subject.

"Uh, where are you running to Naruto?"

"...Oh." He shook his head. A second later and his big goofy smile was back on his face. "I was coming to see all of you guys. I'm going to be leaving the village for a while! Ero-sennin is taking me on a training trip and told me to tell you guys bye."

"So you're going to get stronger then. Fine, I will await your return to the village for a rematch." Neji smirked confidently at Naruto.

"Ya know, I really can't take you serious while you're wearing that Neji." Naruto chuckled. Neji growled and began to walk away.

"Where are you going Neji-kun?" TenTen called jogging after him.

"To burn this disgusting excuse for an outfit."

Naruto bid all the others goodbye, and told them to tell the others if they saw them. When he turned and began to run from the group, a small sheet of paper fell from his pocket. Shikamaru picked it up but Naruto was already too far away. He opened it and read it.

"What's that Shika-nii-san?" Ino asked peering over his shoulder. Shikamaru finished reading it with a stern expression.

"It's a confession..."

Naruto neared the gates and saw Jiraiya still waiting for him.

"You ready Gaki?"

"Yeah...well...not really." Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"What's the problem?"

"Do you think we could take one more person, please?"

Jiraiya frowned. "Look, I already told you Sakura can't-"

"Not Sakura! I was talking about...Hinata-chan."

The Toad Sage rose an eye brow, though he felt impressed. 'Is he moving on already? Well, might as well encourage this.' He pretended to debate over it. "I don't know...why should I?"

"Because Hinata-chan is smart and strong and I know she has the potential to learn what you will teach us!"

Jiraiya smiled. "What makes her different from Sakura?"

Naruto froze. Thinking about what had happened earlier, it was clear. "Everything." He simply replied.

"Good answer gaki. Go get her."

Naruto smiled brightly, not hesitating for a second. Without another word, he darted back into the village. However, a scene not so happy was playing at his destination.

"W-what?" Hinata stuttered, eyes dilated in front of her father. Hiashi only looked at her angrily, forehead scrunched in fury.

"You heard me. Pack your bags and leave. You are no longer the heir of my clan."


	4. Runaway

**Yo, what's up everybody! Looks like I got this chapter done just in time! I'm about to graduate from high school! (I have no job...) June 10 is the day, so I will be busy for a little. Don't worry, I will still try to post chapters expeditiously. (Ha, add that to your vocabulary!)**

**I am once again bound to the agreement that though I may write, I do not own. Therefor, Naruto remains the property of Masashi Kishimoto and all songs to Linkin Park. Any extra mentioned items belong to there rightful owners, that is until I monopolize them. **

**On a final note, just for the record, I have not started any bashing yet at all. When I start, you will know, however, under request of one of my valued reviewers, I will try to keep it to a point where I enjoy doing it but it doesn't detract from the story. (See, I listen to my readers, so start telling me what you want dammit!)**

Chapter 4: Runaway

"B-but…why? Father…" Hinata stuttered in complete horror. _'I'm being…disinherited?'_

"Don't think it is just because of what happened earlier." Hiashi shifted, putting a hand on his knee. His tone was completely stern and not insulting nor comforting. "You have not prooven yourself worthy of taking lead of the clan."

"Why now?" Hinata called near tears. "W-what about the chunin exams?"

"What about them? You lost to Neji as expected. You remain a genin and you are still weak minded."

Hinata didn't respond. Hadn't trying been enough? Her father had began looking at Neji in a new light, but he still didn't see Hinata. She was getting stronger, but in a different way than just physical strength.

"You can not take command Hinata and you are failing as a ninja. I am saving you the embarrassment of failing as a clan leader."

Those words did it. It was enough for Hinata. Her father wasn't a father at all to her. He was the one hindering her from getting stronger. He was the one hindering her from growing. He was the one hindering her from being the best kunoichi she could be.

"You aren't saving me from anything!" Hinata screamed standing up. Hiashi looked at Hinata in shock for the second time that day. "What is it about me that makes you think I'm weak?" She cried. "B-because I care? Because I'm empathetic? Have you ever tried to talk to me father? To ask what I've been doing, or how hard I've been trying? Have you ever thought about what I'm feeling this whole time? I know I'm not as good as you want, and I kill myself each and every day trying to prove to you that I can be as good as you want me to be!" She had begun crying after a while. "You haven't even once told me...that you love me. When I was a little girl...you told me I looked like mother! So what now? Do I still look like her? Did you even love her then?"

"Don't ever say I didn't love her!" Hiashi grew louder as he rose.

"THEN WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME!" Hinata screamed, her voice echoing through the compound. The chamber went silent. Hiashi stared at his daughter, scared and angry. Hinata shook, tears making wet circles on the floor. Without another word, she turned and walked from the chamber, leaving a confused and regretful clan leader in her wake.

**Outside...**

Naruto dug in his ear as he neared the Hyuga compound gates. For a second he could have sworn he heard a scream. Stopping at the gates, he contemplated jumping over them again, but remembered that he didn't want to get Hinata into any more trouble than she already was. With a sigh, he prepared to ring the buzzer on the front gates, however the mansion doors burst open with a bang. Hinata walked briskly towards the gate, a backpack on, and tears still on her face. Naruto watched silently, seeing that the girl still hadn't noticed him. He took a step back as Hinata opened the gates. She closed them and absently walked right into Naruto.

"Oh, suimasen." She said in a low, strained voice, eyes remaining on the ground.

"Yo, Hinata-chan? What's the matter?" A few seconds of silence was followed by a delayed squeak. Hinata's entire body turned red upon realizing who was speaking to her and what said person had just called her.

"N-Naruto-kun? W-what are you d-doing back here?" She spoke fast, quickly trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. Naruto grabbed her arms and pulled her close to him. He was looking straight into her eyes.

"Why are you crying Hinata-chan?" He asked seriously.

"I...Well, there was..." She stopped stuttering. "I've been disinherited and exiled."

No more than a second later, Naruto's eyes blazed red and he had spun Hinata around. Still gripping her wrist, he walked up to the gates and kicked them in.

"NO! Naruto-kun, don't!" Hinata was trying to pull Naruto back, putting all her weight into it but to no avail.

"What do you mean? That bastard can't do this to you!" Naruto growled.

"Yes he can!"

"What?" They stopped and Naruto released Hinata's wrist. "What do you mean he can do that to you?"

"He's the clan head. He c-can do whatever he wants within the clan."

Naruto growled. "He put you out! Did he even find you anywhere to stay?"

"I've always wanted to run away Naruto-kun, and to never say goodbye." She said silently. "So this isn't so bad...not really. I-I can stay with Kurenai-sensei."

Naruto saw that Hinata wasn't too upset about it, yet he felt terrible. For some reason, he felt like it was his fault and that ticked him off. Just because Hiashi had that type of power, what type of father would do that to his own daughter? Hiashi still didn't like Naruto as a person, and now it seemed like Hinata was guilty by association. He didn't want her to have a ruined life just because of what he was.

"I'm sorry Hinata-chan. I didn't mean to cause you all this trouble."

"Don't say that! It's not your fault N-Naruto-kun." She nibbled her finger with a small blush. An awkward silence followed, once again leading to Naruto thinking.

_'With no Hokage, we can't do anything about this. She says she has Kurenai-sensei, but that still doesn't fix what Hiashi-teme's done. Maybe ero-sennin can...THAT'S IT!'_

"Hey Hinata-chan! I had come back to ask if you still wanted to come with me and ero-sennin!" Naruto gleefully stated/shouted.

"S-seriously? I-I really can?" She was almost screaming just as loud as Naruto.

"And it's your decision since you don't have to listen to Hiashi-teme anymore! That'll give you time to think about what you want to do when we get back to the village anyway!"

"Are you sure I w-won't be a burden?" Her mood was coming down again, and Naruto sighed in frustration. She had a lot of insecurities to work on, and though kind of cute, the stutter had to go. Her lack of confidence was probably the reason why many people looked down on her, but of course her father had a hand in the process too.

"A burden? Hinata-chan, I invited you! What are friends for anyway?" Naruto gave his large smile, a sign that he was completely set on what he wanted to do.

_'Friend? Well, at least it's better than when he called me weird...'_Hinata giggled at her own thought. Naruto looked at her confused. She tilted her head and gave her cute smile again, making Naruto blush. "Arigatou Naruto-kun! I will be honored to join you and Jiraiya-sensei."

"Alright!" Naruto cheered. "Come on, after we get my stuff from my apartment we can leave right away!"

_'Do you see me jiji? Am I still making you proud?'_An image of the third hokage popped into the blonde's mind. Naruto drug Hinata all the way to his apartment, taking note of the confused and shocked gazes of the villagers.

_'Crap. If they find out me and Hinata-chan are friends, they might do something to her.' _He thought as he opened his apartment door. Hinata on the other hand, had been feeling extremely proud to be running through the village with the orange clad ninja.

"Don't mind the mess." Naruto waved carelessly as he went to his room. Hinata turned green and stumbled. There were dozens of insta-ramen cups scattered about, pizza boxes, energy drink bottles, spill stains of all sorts, etc. Hinata, being the neat freak that she was, thought that she had just been sent to the Twilight Zone, and then to an even worse hell. She loved Naruto with all her heart, but this just wouldn't do.

"Um...N-Naruto-kun?" She called lightly.

"Just a minute."

"But-" A little louder.

"I'll be ready in a sec."

"NARUTO-KUN!"

A thump was heard, a cuss, and then Naruto tripped out of his room face first in front of Hinata.

"Eh...Yes ma'am?" Hinata's yell startled him badly, having him hit his head on his closet clothes rack. Twice.

"We c-can't leave until we clean this mess."

"Who say wha?"

Hinata flushed red. "Forgive me Naruto-kun, b-but this is downright repulsing."

Naruto looked around, observing his apartment more thoroughly than usual. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Heh heh, I guess you're right."

Naruto finished packing his clothes, creating several clones to help clean up his apartment. After only five minutes, three of the clones had pinned Hinata to the couch, telling her that she was a guess and didn't need to help clean up someone else's apartment. Hinata had willingly gave up as two clones held her by her arms and legs and one tickled her relentlessly.

"Done, Hina-chan. We should get going now." Naruto called with a huge back pack. The clones that had been holding the Hyuga princess vanished. Hinata took a moment to recompose herself, sitting on the couch while taking deep tearful breaths.

"W-what's that Naruto-kun? How many scrolls are you taking?"

Hinata frowned when Naruto turned a confused glance on her. "Scrolls...? Oh, wait a minute!" Naruto dropped his bag and picked Hinata's up from the table. Getting a nod of approval, he opened it and found five scrolls inside and nothing else.

"You know how to seal?" Naruto called in amazement.

"O-of course. W-we were taught this in the academy..."

_'Those bastards!' _Naruto growled in his mind. _'If Iruka-sensei was the one to teach sealing I wouldn't have this problem right now...' _

"If you don't remember, I c-can show you..."

"I would appreciate that Hina-chan. But ero-sennin has been waiting all this time. If it's not a problem, do you think you could seal these for me and then teach me on the road?"

Hinata nodded. Naruto was willing to learn something from her. Maybe the thought hadn't really sunk in yet, seeing as she was still conscious. She sealed Naruto's clothes and weapons for him, and they both exited the apartment.

"Naruto? Hinata-san?"

Both teens looked down the steps to see Sakura looking up at the two in astonishment.

"S-Sakura-chan? What are you doing here?"

"What were you two doing in there?" She asked ignoring his question.

"I-I was helping N-Naruto-kun clean up." Hinata knew that she was not going to like the situation that was about to arrive with Sakura being present.

For a second, Hinata could have sworn that a flash of relief crossed Sakura's features but she put it to her imagination.

"Oh...well, why didn't you tell us you were feeling better baka? Me and Sasuke-kun have been worried sick about you!"

"I went to both of your houses but you guys weren't there!" Naruto was half accusing Sakura, but hearing that she and Sasuke were worried about him helped ease his anger from earlier.

"Why didn't you come to the training ground then? We had Kakashi-sensei teaching us some new jutsu!" Before Naruto could respond, she continued, cupping her hands under her chin. "And Sasuke-kun got it in one go! He's so amazing! Don't you agree Hinata-san? I mean, you should've seen him! Kakashi-sensei was so impressed!"

"Eh, we got to go!" Naruto said, feeling more than just annoyed at the girls obsession with the raven haired boy.

"Huh? Go were?" She asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

"M-Master Jiraiya is taking me and N-Naruto-kun training for a while." Hinata answered.

"WHAT!" Sakura's voice roared, making birds in several trees fly away from the monstrous sound. "You weren't even going to tell us?"

"Well you didn't tell me about any jutsu training." Naruto spat back. This took both kunoichi by surprise. Did Naruto just call Sakura out? Sakura blinked several times before shaking her head.

"What did you just say?" She asked, though her voice was more uncertain than threatening.

"Forget it. We have to get going or ero-sennin will be mad. Later Sakura." He called and once again began to drag Hinata away.

_'Did he just call me...'_Sakura's eyes widened in horror. _'Don't tell me I've lost him already!'_

Naruto grumbled as they neared the gates again, seeing Jiraiya still waiting for them, though he seemed to be writing in a small note pad.

"Hinata-chan, you said you wanted to runaway."

They slowly walked side by side. "I did. But, then that would've been just like giving up, and you taught me to never give up Naruto-kun."

A quick blush from both put them into silence again. "You know, I've always wanted to know the truth, instead of wondering why."

"Wondering what Naruto-kun?"

"Why things turn out the way they do for me. Now that I'm looking back on things, you becoming my friend is the greatest thing that's happened to me since I've become a ninja."

However, Naruto began to think about Sakura and Sasuke again. He still didn't get why he couldn't let go of Sakura emotionally and why he still felt like he had a bond with Sasuke. Both had become more distant to him once they had finished the first part of the chunin exams. It was like their team was drifting apart, but he was the one farthest away.

_'I want to runaway, and never say goodbye. I want to know the truth, instead of wondering why. I want to know the answers, no more lies. I want to shut the door, and open up my mind...'_

Naruto shook the thought away. _'Man, you know you're depressed when you make a song out of words you just heard and it turns out good...dammit.'_

"Naruto-kun, a-are you alright?" Hinata called several paces ahead of him as he had stopped walking.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Gaki, princess, are you just going to stand there all day?" Jiraiya waved at the two from the gate.

"Coming!" They called together. Then Hinata took a deep breath. She grabbed Naruto's hand, causing Naruto to lose all coherent thought for a split second.

"Hi...Hinata-chan?"

"Whatever's on your mind...y-you can talk to me about it Naruto-kun."

"Really?"

"What...are friends for?"

Naruto smiled with a tear in his eye. Hinata really was the best thing to happen to him so far. Then if only he could get the rest of his emotions figured out. For now though, he was happy to just be with her.

They joined Jiraiya and immediately began to walk. They left the village behind, walking leisurely through the foliage. Jiraiya kept stealing quick glances at the two as they still walked hand-in-hand.

_'You're mother would kill me if I bothered you right now.' _Jiraiya thought sadly. He would let them have their moment. But as soon as he was ready, the torture...training would begin.


End file.
